Tricycles and motorized versions thereof have been available for well over a hundred years. Typically, motorized tricycles take one of two forms: a delta, configured with a single front wheel and a pair of rear wheels; or a tadpole, configured with a pair of front wheels and a single rear wheel. The delta form is often referred to as a trike while the tadpole version is referred to as a reverse trike. Both the trike and the reverse trike use a variety of configurations of engines, transmissions, suspension, and rider seating, among others.
Trikes and reverse trikes are often configured similar to motorcycles. This configuration places the engine under a rider and between the front and rear wheels. However other configurations that place the engine behind or in front of the rider are also employed. For example, U.S. Pat. No. 2,503,106 to Fritz describes a front-wheel drive three-wheeled scooter with a delta formation. The engine for the scooter is mounted on the front fork and thus pivots with the fork when the scooter is turned. And U.S. Pat. No. 7,591,337 to Suhre et al. describes a rear-drive reverse trike with the engine located within the main body of the vehicle below and in front of the rider. Other designs, like the Morgan Three-Wheeler from the Morgan Motor Company of Worcestershire, England, more closely resemble a three-wheeled automobile with suspension, steering, and overall layout more like that of a car than a motorcycle.